Mobile SAST, or mobile static application security testing, analyzes a mobile app’s source code, dependencies, and build artifacts before the app is released. Unlike runtime testing, it does not need the app to be running. It looks for insecure coding patterns such as hardcoded secrets, weak cryptography, unsafe data storage, injection risks, and flawed authentication or authorization logic in Android or iOS code.
This matters because mobile apps often handle sensitive data and connect directly to backend APIs. Finding defects early reduces the cost of fixing them and helps teams catch issues before attackers can exploit them in production. In practice, mobile SAST is used in CI/CD pipelines and in secure development workflows, often mapped to standards like MASVS. It is strongest for code-level review, but it works best when combined with testing and runtime protections, since scanners cannot fully model user behavior, device compromise, or tampering after release.